


The Way You Look at Me

by ralsbecket



Series: earth's mightiest heroes [23]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Everyone Is Alive, Falling In Love, Fluff and Humor, Growing Up Together, M/M, MCU Christmas Exchange 2020, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Song: The Way You Look at Me (Christian Bautista), Wedding Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28485936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ralsbecket/pseuds/ralsbecket
Summary: Steve had never known how much one person’s smile could mean to him until he was on the receiving end of Bucky’s; how his eyes said everything without a single word. There was something in the way that Bucky looked at him, something that burned a fire through his veins while simultaneously drowning him with every smile, every touch, every sound of his name.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: earth's mightiest heroes [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1771900
Comments: 14
Kudos: 36
Collections: MCU Christmas Exchange





	The Way You Look at Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ginger_angel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginger_angel/gifts).



> “No one ever saw me like you do  
> All the things that I could add up to  
> I never knew just what a smile was worth  
> But your eyes say everything  
> Without a single word”  
> \- Christian Bautista, _The Way You Look at Me_
> 
> A/N: A tad bit late, but that's definitely my ~brand~ Written for ginger_angel, whose MCU Christmas Exchange request was for fluffy Stucky! Hope you enjoy
> 
> Obligatory warning for brief mentions of teens doing the horizontal tango (Steve is 16, Bucky is 17), just in case that's someone squick ~~because I don't want to get flamed for it lmaoo~~
> 
> (Reblog the post [here](https://ralsbecket.tumblr.com/post/639164121303089152/its-most-definitely-my-brand-to-be-late-with-this)!)

Steve Rogers was lucky to be in love with his best friend. Some would say it was genuinely disgusting with how far _gone_ he was on Bucky Barnes, but no one could deny that the two of them were made for each other. The universe must have been very happy for some reason, to put them into each other’s lives so early on.

Their families had lived across the street from each other in Brooklyn, after Steve’s father got re-stationed from serving abroad. Steve had been nine when they met, still a small, lanky kid with blond hair that trouble seemed to always follow. Bucky was ten at the time, taller but just as skinny, and he’d seen Steve stand up to (and, subsequently, get beat up by) the school yard bullies and thought, _I’m keeping him_. From then on, they were inseparable.

Over the years, the two of them had shared many firsts. Steve’s first taste of alcohol was when he was eleven, after Bucky convinced him to sneak into Joseph’s office to find the handle of scotch (Steve took one sip and did _not_ enjoy it). Bucky’s first kiss was when he was thirteen, after he complained about being the only kid in their grade to not have had his first kiss (Steve grabbed him by the cheeks and pressed their mouths together; that he _did_ enjoy).

Bucky’s lips had been chapped, rough against Steve’s softer ones, where a tingle traveled from their mouths to stir up the kaleidoscope of butterflies in their stomachs. When they pulled away, the two of them stared wide-eyed and silent at each other. Steve remembered feeling the heat creep up his neck and burn the tips of his ears. He remembered his heart beating fast in his chest when Bucky’s fingers twisted into the front of his shirt just to pull him into another kiss.

Steve’s first-time having sex was when he was sixteen and Bucky was seventeen, when the Rogers’ house was empty, with Joseph back on another tour and Sarah working the night shift at the hospital. It happened after their group of friends had left their high school prom and gone out to eat at one of the local diners at two in the morning; Steve and Bucky walked back to their neighborhood side by side, wearing broad grins and brushing hands as they went. Bucky had leaned down to leave a chaste kiss to Steve’s lips, trailing his fingertips along his jaw, and suddenly they were stumbling through the front door.

It was that same night that Steve realized for the first time that he… probably, maybe, most likely had feelings for his best friend. Very strong ones, at that. Steve had never known how much one person’s smile could mean to him until he was on the receiving end of Bucky’s; how his eyes said everything without a single word. There was something in the way that Bucky looked at him, something that burned a fire through his veins while simultaneously drowning him with every smile, every touch, every sound of his name. Bucky was fever hot against his skin but the hands resting at the nape of Steve’s neck were cold, not unlike the steely blues that were the brunet’s eyes.

Bucky was never the most outwardly affectionate boyfriend, but he had definitely fallen just as hard for Steve as Steve did for him. To say the very least, Bucky was entirely smitten with him. Surprising absolutely _nobody_ , he was also the first one to say, “I love you” even when Steve was just sitting across from him and eating a bowl of spaghetti on their second date. Bucky was the one who asked Steve to move-in together when they’d both gone off to pursue their undergrad on the west coast. Bucky was even the one to get down on one knee to propose to Steve at his college graduation, with nothing but bright eyes and a smile so wide it reached both of his ears.

Steve Rogers was well aware that he was lucky to be marrying his best friend. And Bucky told him as much when he recited his vows in front of the church filled with a few of their friends and family members back in New York. He could feel the waiting gazes of the people sitting in the church’s pews – his parents, Bucky’s parents, Rebecca, Jim, Gabe, Peggy, Dum-dum, and Jacques, among others – when it was his turn to say his vows. (Sam and Nat stood beside them as the groomspeople, as she liked to put it, egging Steve on to hurry up and earning a soft glare from the small blond.)

Steve’s hands shook slightly as he unfolded the piece of paper he pulled from his breast pocket, steadied only by Bucky’s light grip on his wrists. Their eyes met briefly, and Steve saw the wetness in Bucky’s that likely mirrored his own.

“Okay, um…” Exhaling a nervous laugh, Steve cleared his throat. And one more glance at his fiancé, his soon-to-be husband, just for good luck. “Bucky, there aren’t enough words in the English language to describe how I feel about you, but here goes: You’ve always seen me when no one else did, loved me even with all my broken pieces. And… and every time I look at you, it’s as if I know in my heart that you’re _my_ missing piece. You…”

His vision blurred with the tears in his eyes. Steve wiped the wetness away with the cuff of his jacket sleeve, letting a quiet sob escape his chest when Bucky began to thumb away the remnants on his cheeks. “C’mon, punk, don’t quit on me now,” he teased.

“Shut up, you,” Steve shot back, “it’s not every day I have to profess my undying love and devotion to you in front of everyone we know.”

“Alright. Proceed.” Bucky’s smirk widened when stifled chuckles rippled through the crowd.

Steve pursed his lips into a thin line to hide a smile before his eyes fell back to the piece of paper in his hands. “You’re sometimes brash, and an ass, but you have the biggest heart of anyone I know. Bucky, you’ve made me believe that there’s nothing in this world I can’t be, and I’m ready to spend the rest of my life making sure you feel the same. I’ll be with you ‘til the end of the line.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They met each other halfway, pressing a hasty kiss to the other’s lips before their minister stuttered out a playful, “Ah, you – alright – okay, wow, you two are excited – well, guess I’m not needed here anymore.”

Steve and Bucky both smiled sheepishly, taking a step back as they muttered out less than sincere apologies. The two men shared a knowing look, excitement bubbling between them. They couldn’t wait to be married, officially. They couldn’t wait until the wedding bands were around their fingers. They couldn’t wait until they could jump into the town car parked outside with the Just Married sign on the back window and head to the reception hall.

The very tail end of the ceremony went off without a hitch, with the minister almost speeding through his spiel before announcing, “I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may now –”

Steve all but launched himself into Bucky’s arms, capturing his mouth in a searing kiss and knotting his fingers in his dark hair. Bucky’s lips were warm on his, firm but pliant, stealing his breath like they always did. They ignored, for a moment, the raucous cheers from their friends and family.

Bucky was the first to pull away, a hair’s breadth away from Steve’s lips. Against his husband’s mouth, he muttered, “I love you, Stevie.”

“I love you more,” he replied, nipping at Bucky’s lips.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Happy new year to y'all! ([Check out my linktree for tumblr, discord, and other socials!](https://linktr.ee/ralsbecket))


End file.
